TRUE STORY: TOP TEN OSCAR-WORTHY FILMS

Movies are a great way to relax and get away from real life. Sometimes good movies are based on a true story where real life is more compelling. They don’t need any over the top action sequences and ridiculous comedy to get over. Here are the tops films based on true events this year that are sure to get an Oscar nod.

BLEED FOR THIS

Vinny “The Pazmanian Devil” Pazienza (Miles Teller), a local Providence boxer, shoots to stardom after winning two world title fights. After a near-fatal car accident leaves him with a broken neck, he is told he may never walk again. Against all odds and doctor’s orders, renowned trainer Kevin Rooney (Aaron Eckhart) agrees to help Vinny return to the ring just a year after the accident for what could be the last fight of his life.

What To Watch Out For: Oscar Nomination for Best Script

FLORENCE FOSTER JENKINS

In the 1940s, New York socialite Florence Foster Jenkins (Meryl Streep) dreams of becoming a great opera singer. Unfortunately, her ambition far exceeds her talent. The voice Florence hears in her head is beautiful, but to everyone else it is quite lousy. Her husband St. Clair goes to extreme lengths to make sure his wife never finds out how awful she truly is. When Florence announces her plans for a concert at Carnegie Hall, St. Clair soon realizes that he’s facing his greatest challenge yet.

What To Watch Out For: Oscar Nomination for Best Actress, Meryl Streep

HACKSAW RIDGE

The true story of Pfc. Desmond T. Doss (Andrew Garfield), who won the Congressional Medal of Honor despite refusing to bear arms during WWII on religious grounds. Doss was drafted and ostracized by fellow soldiers for his pacifist stance but went on to earn respect and adoration for his bravery, selflessness and compassion after he risked his life — without firing a shot — to save 75 men in the Battle of Okinawa.

What To Watch Out For: Oscar Nomination for Best Actress, Natalie Portman

LION

Five year old Saroo gets lost on a train which takes him thousands of miles across India, away from home and family. Saroo must learn to survive alone in Kolkata, before ultimately being adopted by an Australian couple. Twenty-five years later, armed with only a handful of memories, his unwavering determination, and a revolutionary technology known as Google Earth, he sets out to find his lost family and finally return to his first home.

What To Watch Out For: Oscar Nomination for Best Movie; Best Supporting Actress, Nicole Kidman; Best Supporting Actor, Sunny Pawar

LOVING

Interracial couple Richard and Mildred Loving fell in love and were married in 1958. They grew up in Central Point, a small town in Virginia that was more integrated than surrounding areas in the American South. Yet it was the state of Virginia, where they were making their home and starting a family, that first jailed and then banished them.

What To Watch Out For: Oscar Nomination for Best film

QUEEN OF KATWE

Living in the slum of Katwe in Kampala, Uganda, is a constant struggle for 10-year-old Phiona (Madina Nalwanga) and her family. Her world changes one day when she meets Robert Katende (David Oyelowo), a missionary who teaches children how to play chess. Phiona becomes fascinated with the game and soon becomes a top player under Katende’s guidance.

What To Watch Out For: Oscar Nomination for Best Film

SNOWDEN

Disillusioned with the intelligence community, top contractor Edward Snowden (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) leaves his job at the National Security Agency. He now knows that a virtual mountain of data is being assembled to track all forms of digital communication — not just from foreign governments and terrorist groups, but from ordinary Americans. When Snowden decides to leak this classified information, he becomes a traitor to some, a hero to others and a fugitive from the law.

What To Watch Out For: Oscar Nomination for Best Film; Best Director, Oliver Stone

SULLY

On Jan. 15, 2009, Capt. Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger (Tom Hanks) tries to make an emergency landing in New York’s Hudson River after US Airways Flight 1549 strikes a flock of geese. Miraculously, all of the 155 passengers and crew survive the harrowing ordeal, and Sullenberger becomes a national hero in the eyes of the public and the media. Despite the accolades, the famed pilot now faces an investigation that threatens to destroy his career and reputation.

What To Watch Out For: Oscar Nomination for Best film; Best Actor, Tom Hanks

GOLD

Loosely based on a true story, a prospector (Matthew McConaughey) draws the attention of the FBI and the Indonesian military after finding an enormous amount of gold in the jungles of Indonesia in 1993.

What To Watch Out For: Oscar Nomination for Best Actor, Matthew McConaughey